IBM cools linked quantum modules below 15 millikelvin in Poughkeepsie

August 26, 2026 at 02:30 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

IBM joined two cryogenic modules into a single environment at its Poughkeepsie facility and cooled the combined system to below 15 millikelvin. The company said the milestone advances its IBM Quantum Starling fault-tolerant machine planned for 2029. The temperature is more than 180 times colder than deep space.

Key Facts

IBM cooled a two-module cryogenic system to below 15 millikelvin at its Poughkeepsie facility.
The company targets delivery of the IBM Quantum Starling fault-tolerant machine in 2029.
Each new cryogenic cell offers 0.53 square meters of wiring space and 2.75 cubic meters of vacuum chamber volume.
IBM says the new cells provide up to twelve times more wiring room than its most widely used systems.
IBM's 2027 target refers to programmable qubits usable for computation across several linked chips.

Cryogenic Hardware

IBM's new cryogenic cells are box-shaped, built from solid aluminum panels and framing, and roughly three times the size of a kitchen fridge. Their rectangular shape allows them to stand in a tight row, unlike cylindrical cryostats that must be spaced out. Openings in the side walls let quantum cables run from one cell into the next. Multiple layers of thermal shielding wrap those cables to form a protected cryogenic tunnel that keeps the link between processors at operating temperature.

Scalability and Qubits

IBM says the new approach addresses the constraint that has limited superconducting quantum computers: every added qubit needs control and readout lines, each line carries heat, and a cylinder runs out of cross-section before it runs out of qubits. IBM has already reached 1,000 qubits with its Condor processor on a single chip in December 2023. The new goal is to have programmable qubits usable for computation across linked processors, a different task than what IBM has already demonstrated. IBM's 2027 target refers to qubits that can be addressed and used for calculations across several chips linked together.